Wednesday, November 25, 2009

My Trendy Thanksgiving Menu

2009 is the year turkey-free Thanksgiving became mainstream. The New York Times has been sharing vegan and vegetarian recipes on its Well Blog, and last week Martha Herself dedicated a show to vegetarian holiday recipes. Even my local paper, the Bangor Daily News, jumped on the bandwagon with a story last week (I'm in there, five or six paragraphs down).

Despite the hostility evident in some readers' comments (why so defensive, meat-eaters?), I hope this recent attention helps allay the anxiety of hosts and hostesses cooking for vegan guests. Creating colorful, interesting plant-based dishes is easy; the links above include more than a dozen recipes.

One great thing about vegan dinner guests is that by and large, they love to cook and share. I'm eating elsewhere this year, and bringing the following:

I'm most excited about the pie; I used the recipe last year and adapted it this time, omitting the ginger and adding cinnamon, nutmeg, and a cup of shredded coconut. I believe the Pilgrims would have approved.

I am a meat-eater! No defensiveness here.I do always try to figure out something everyone can enjoy. My best friend's amazing cranberry maple stuffing is vegetarian and easily made vegan, so I try to take that to potlucks. :) I love cooking and sharing. That pie looks lovely.

I definitely think if you know in advance that you have vegans or vegetarians come for dinner or a meal, you should accommodate them. It's just fair and considerate. I don't think it's the same if you were to go to their place, because a meat eater can always eat vegan, but a vegan can't eat meat! So there.